I Love K-pop: The Beauty of Performance and Group Dance

There is a lot to love about K-pop, but one of the biggest parts of the genre that is different form other pop music is the performances. Whether it be the way an idol interacts with the crowd or how the group dances together, let us share a little bit of our appreciation for K-pop performance with you.

Miyoko: One thing I love about K-pop is its high-quality live performances. More often than not, idol groups deliver energetic stages that are flat out awesome to watch. Then there are those groups that take their live performances to the next level and create something that is an artistic expression itself. This is not something special to K-pop; while performance was recognized as an artistic medium in the 1960s, its utilization has been recorded throughout history. However, it is something to appreciate in K-pop because idols perform live a ridiculous amount in their careers.

Let’s talk about the definition of “performance,” which is nebulous at best. For the purposes of this article, I am not talking of performance that is solely a display of skill, such as juggling, but rather a conscious expression of an idea through live performance. In K-pop, we see many incarnations of the same idea through music, dance and MVs. Live performances are another facet of that, often pulling everything together to create a shared experience with the audience. A group like Brown Eyed Girls who have an array of complexly-themed songs, combined these elements for their “Sixth Sense” performances to convey an idea that even the lyrics say is “more than music.”

The individual body of the performer remains at the core, of which we’re often reminded in K-pop through choreography. A recent example would be VIXX’s “Hyde,” which not only has a technically intense dance, but also contains movement that shows an emotional arc. While the set adds a gothic feel, the focus is on the body. This is obviously good for the commercial aspect of K-pop, but such choreography also serves to emphasize live, human emotion.

I don’t imagine K-pop idols to sit around thinking about performance theory — their goal being to heighten audience enjoyment — but that doesn’t mean their lives are any less creative. It is the idol’s job to assimilate the ideas of the composer, choreographer and company with their own, and freely express this to an audience. Each performer puts their own stamp on a performance; while a different group could execute the same moves: like Exo covering SHINee’s “Why So Serious?”, the feel is completely different.

Big Bang is an example of a group that has a signature performance style, both as a whole and individually. For instance, their stages for “Love Song” haven’t been particularly “spectacular” in terms of props or choreography, but they show how pedestrian, repetitious movement can convey individuality, group cohesion and build of emotion. Their stages illustrate how each movement is interpreted by each member, and then how thoughtfully they culminate to create a full performance. G-Dragon in particular, often talks about the process of his concerts, and how he treats them just as artistically as his compositions.

Not every group exhibits this conscious attitude toward performance. There are groups that simply go onstage, hit their mark and manage to smile, which is hardly inspired. Then there are the groups that bring energy and sharpness to their performances, making for an enjoyable show. Finally, there are the groups that enhance this energy with their presence and audience connection.

Looking at American theatre director Joseph Chaikin’s definition, presence is the “quality that makes you feel as though you’re standing right next to the actor, no matter where you’re sitting in the theater.” Chaikin is speaking of actors, but this applies to all performers. While a word like “charisma” implies a one-sided magnetism, presence is something a performer shares. When B.A.P’s Himchan spoke of their US tour, he said “It seemed like fans were really dancing with us, rather than just cheering for us.” That is an example of the give and take of presence; the audience creates the moment as much as the performer. For B.A.P in particular, as is evident from our chat about the tour, their presence is palpable precisely because they share so much of themselves with the audience during performance.

Admittedly, it’s difficult to get the full effect if you’re watching through a computer, but performance skill can come through a screen. All those moments when idols play to the camera during music shows is their attempt to connect with the audience at home, and the fact that they can direct their energy to multiple layers of an audience is impressive. Someone like SHINee’s Key is particularly good at this; he can spontaneously respond when a camera is directed at him, giving the viewing audience the same attention he gives the live one.

Lindsay: Now that we’ve talked a bit about what makes K-pop performances special, let’s talk about the specific area of K-pop performance that stands out to me personally: the dancing. There is nothing in the Western pop scene that compares to a perfectly choreographed and executed performance of five or more people on the same stage, and when you take it up to seven people, or even thirteen people, the level of synchronization becomes incredibly impressive. This group dancing format is one of the biggest differences between Western pop performers and K-pop performers.

Personally, I’d take a dance performance over a ballad song performance any day. Although it does take skill and dedication to simply learn choreography, there is so much more to dancing than just knowing the steps. At its best, a dance performance captures the emotions of the song performed, and portrays the intended emotions accurately and understandably to the audience. While most K-pop groups do dance, there are only a few that truly wow the audience with their perfect execution of the multiple aspects of a good dance performance.

As Miyoko mentioned, VIXX’s “Hyde” is a perfect example of a K-pop performance where the dance plays an integral part. This choreography was dramatic and theatrical, which fit perfectly with the song, and the dance moves themselves expressed the lyrics. Not only that, but every aspect of the dance was enhanced by the use of two different colors of outfits and the gothic stage makeup. Although the outfits are excellent on their own, it is the fact that they’re clearly meant to emphasize the duality of the dance sections that is even more impressive. A perfect example of this is the final move of the choreography when half of the members “steal the life” of the other members in a dance move that completely captures the essence of the dual-personality concept.

An ode to K-pop dancing wouldn’t be complete without a mention of Shinee and their choreography for “Sherlock.” In general, Shinee is known for their complicated choreography and their ability to execute it almost flawlessly. From their unforgettable “Lucifer” hand-cuff dance to the impressive “Dream Girl” dance with mic-stands, Shinee always manages to stand out from the crowd when it comes to dancing. However, it is “Sherlock” that’s prominent for being a dance that’s meant for performance.

The dance stands out so much more than the song for me that I wouldn’t even think to listen to it without a video of them dancing to it. The choreography played off of the detective theme with abstract hand motions imitating cameras and spyglasses, but it wasn’t in a corny way. Each step of the choreography blended into the next seamlessly so even a tiny misstep in timing would be disastrous. Most importantly, the dance included lots of moves that called for team work and collaboration between the group members. This dance would be useless without a large number of people, which means it would never work for a soloist performing.

Both of these examples share a very important commonality: the amount of member interaction, and the amount of teamwork in the overall choreography. This is one of the things the large group dances in K-pop allow for that you don’t see with most pop artists in the Western scene. The ability to create a dance that incorporates multiple people moving in a seamless, synchronized way is an art form in and of itself, and the ability to master and pull off such a dance convincingly isn’t any less of one. There are so many groups in K-pop that perform excellent choreography with their single releases that it is something that can be taken for granted, but it only takes one quick foray into US pop music to remind us why dance performances in K-pop are so important.

There are many aspects that go into creating a great performance, and dance is just one of them. From the outfits, to the facial expressions, to the group’s energy on stage, there is no shortage of elements that are combined to create that amazing final product.

We’ve talked about some of our favorite performance aspects, but what are yours? Please share them with us in the comments!

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Spot on with “Sherlock.” Honestly, it ranks low in my ranking of all the songs that SHINee has ever promoted, but I’d still gladly watch each and every performance of it just because they do it so well. They sell you the song the second they start moving as the song starts playing. It’s what sets SHINee apart from a lot of the other groups because like them or not, they make you want to watch them do their thing.

Josh Chinnery

Sherlock is actually high up on my list of favorite SHINee songs (hell, it was the song that got me *into* SHINee XD), and I must agree with you on that song. I watch them do that routine while singing live, and I feel like bowing to them while chanting, “I am not worthy!!”. Even during their Dream Girl and Why So Serious promotions (which have *way* less complicated routines), they still own that stage like they it belonged to them and them alone. I can’t really say that I find SHINee all that interesting, but I do say that their performance prowess makes me a big big fan.

Kayse Salmon

SHINee is so RAW I love to watch them dance why isn’t synchronized dancing an Olympic sport!!!!!

Shyyrn

K-Pop dance routines (particularly SM the Performance’s cover of ‘Spectrum’) are the reason I’ve gotten into dance, and it’s a decision I do not regret. While I obviously don’t have the experience or time to ever achieve the same level of coordination, speed, or power, it’s still improved my life and given me goals to aspire to (and given me some exercise along the way XD ).

Josh Chinnery

If there’s one thing that I think K-Pop has over Western pop, it’s the choreography. Most Western pop artists don’t even bother with choreography, and even when they do (I mean in this day and age, peeps), they don’t have that umph that makes it special.

http://twitter.com/JohnDeSims JDSono

I’ll still take Chris Brown, Usher, and Omarion any day. It’s cool having nice choreography, but are you a nice dancer without it…

Josh Chinnery

Depends on the dancer. Me? Not so much XD But I’m sure K-Pop’s finest can compete with the dancers you just mentioned :3

http://twitter.com/JohnDeSims JDSono

Only legit dancer in Kpop I’ll give credit to is Jay Park. Everyone else IMO are kinda sloppy or rough around the edges

darkchocolatecoffee

Taemin, Rain, Hyuna and Hyoyeon are pretty good dancers as well imo. Jay has choreography that suits his style more so maybe that allows him to work it more? Of course, Jay being Jay is still one of the best dancers around in kpop.

Olliana

Hey, we’ve got the twerk thing now.

darkchocolatecoffee

Vixx and Shinee are excellent picks! The performance and dance aspect of kpop is so integral to a song that it is just wrong not to have a set of choreography for a particular dance song. You’ve got five senses generally, what would you do with the sense of sight if there was no dance in a dance song? And imo, it would be quite difficult to explain the booming interest in kpop to a non-kpopper unless you show them the whole package – the song with the dance, mv, makeup everything.

Chelsea

Idk but it just don’t feel right if someone else is dancing to SHINee’s choreos. I can’t explain it but SHINee are just amazing, every member has his own style but as a team they look so united. I just can’t look away when they dance even simple choreos like “Hello” look amazing and fascinating as long as they dance to it.

Lianna

the dance, the expressions, the way idols interact with camera or audiences, kpop idols need to master all those, something which is not common for western idols

Streby

The fact that SHINee sang that song live while dancing that ridiculously difficult choreography with such tight clothes (Taeman’s rip!) just makes me validify my obsession with them.

Tanya Joshi

THIS article is exactly the definition of why I love K-pop compared to W-pop… Couldn’t say it any better, seriously, no other word I can use in this comment because the things in this article basically words anything I would ever comment on this type of topic… Watching K-pop really makes me want to learn dance… If only I knew this when I was little I would’ve definitely started dancing as a child.
Oh, just to add: SEHUNIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

KrisMyStar

shinee’s performances are always a treat to watch. in fact, they are the ones that got me into kpop!

rupdiddy

‘Sherlock’ got me into Kpop in the first place, and that video is my favourite SHINee performance forever <3 Because they really put so much energy into their work, and they have fantastic stage charisma. What I'm saying is these boys know how to put on a show :) They really know how to perform and each of them have their unique charms which adds together to create a mindbanging stage. I also have to say VIXX did an incredible job with 'Hyde', and for some reason watching EXO perform 'Why So Serious?' just didn't work :| (not hating on EXO here)

Chelsea

Nah a song like “Why so Serious” just don’t fit EXO. I mean they sang nice and danced to it well but I didn’t feel anything while I watched it.

rupdiddy

I agree. They just didn’t have anywhere near as much charisma as SHINee :/

taequila777

That Hyde performance by VIXX was amazing. I’m vaguely familiar with them, but they’re on my radar now.

arinsen

So, an article about performance but no TVXQ???
I’m deeply disappointed…Those guys are better than anyone when it comes to dancing and singing, they are in perfect harmony and rarely make any mistakes.
DB5K are the real deal in Kpop, baby!

Smile

TVXQ are a duo now. When they were 5 it was something else but now as a duo? Sure they still dance great and Yunho is one of the best dancers in Kpop but it’s not the same anymore (even though I like them as duo more).

arinsen

of course it’s not the same and it won’t be the same. but their choreographies are still amazing

Smile

well SM’s choreographies are always amazing at least for the male groups.

GermaineTelle

K-pop dances are real jewels. I have so many favorites, among which are Infinite’s Before The Dawn, BAP’s Warrior, DBSK Mirotic …

Now for the gripes. Girls group dances just aren’t as interesting as boys group dances. Some are very enjoyable like T-ara’s Roly Poly but as a whole they just don’t seem as challenging or as innovative as boys group dances. Watching one girl group after another on the broadcast music shows, I wish these choreographers would go for a retreat somewhere to refresh themselves and get some real inspiration.

My second gripe is the cameras at these broadcast shows. If they could just point to the centre, take a wide angle, and hold steady, we would get so much more of the dance. I understand the fans need close ups of their favorites, but surely we can do without the rapid zoom in and out, and random shaking and tilting.

Finally, the dance and the audience interaction does come at a price, and that’s the music. All of the instrumental music is pre-recorded, as are many vocal parts. In the choruses, pretty much only the main vocalists are singing and everyone else is lip syncing. I would love to hear what the real live group vocal sound is, not just what has been carefully mixed and edited. And a truly live performance of all the music, not just the main vocal lines, would be really exciting to watch. Anyway, the compromises are made in order to provide a predictable tempo, and to reduce the vocal demands, so that the singers can dance. Even so, the singers’ pitch, timbre and volume sometimes falter, and sometimes very noticeably. I suppose there is a balance to be struck but we should not have to give up good solid singing.

cobyness11

I’m not into Kpop yet when I saw Infinite as I channel surf and was amazed how synchronized they are. That is why I hate it when a MV shows a little of dancing but nowadays I think they are releasing “dance version” which is such a treat

Tijana

I am sorry but the best live performance was by dbsk why did I fall in love with you when they were wearing blue and white
you can just see all of their emotions